By Ramadan A. Kader It all started when the family of a man, who had died at a government-run hospital, discovered that his cornea had been removed. The grief-stricken family said the cornea had been removed without their consent, and vowed to sue the Cairo-based hospital where the man had been treated for a heart problem before his death. The incident has sparked a heated debate among lawmakers, legal experts and medical professionals. Some parliamentarians have filed queries to the government and decried the hospital's act as unconstitutional and unlawful. "Article No 60 of the constitution stipulates that the human body is scared. Attacking, disfiguring or mutilating it is a crime punishable by the law. Trading in human organs is prohibited. Conducting any medical or scientific experiment on it without a free, documented consent is not allowed," said MP Sherine Farag, one of the MPs who filed queries on the incident. She cited in media remarks a law issued in 2010 that makes donation of human organs hinges on a written consent. Violators are liable to jailing and a hefty fine. However, some medical experts have disputed the argument and defended the Kasr el- Eini Hospital where the cornea had reportedly been harvested. "The law allows the removal of the cornea from the recently deceased people without the need to return to the family because the removal does not disfigure the body," Dr Abdul Hamid Abaza, an ex-member of an organ transplant committee, said. "The Kasr el-Eini Hospital did not act unlawfully by removing the cornea of a man, who died inside it, without permission from his family," Dr Abaza told private newspaper Al Masry Al Youm. He added that Egypt has a severe shortage of corneas due to scant donations, prompting their importation at phenomenal costs. "Cornea banks at Cairo and Ain Shams universities have recently closed down due to donor shortages." For his part, Dr Fathi Khudeir, the dean of the Kasr el-Eini medical school to which the hospital is affiliated, said the centre did not act illegally. "The law allows the hospital to obtain the outer part of the cornea without permission of the dead's family," he told the same paper. "There are long lists of patients waiting for corneal transplants. Our hospital treats for free patients, who cannot bear the cost of such cases. The matter is now in the hands of the prosecution that will make the final say." Whatever the prosecutors' decision, the controversy has prompted non-governmental groups to launch pro-donation campaigns. Some campaigners have gone online, declaring willingness to donate their organs after death in an attempt to encourage others to follow suit.
